foam luff

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Thane22692

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May 28, 2004
7
Catalina 387 Lewis
In 2004 we sold our Hunter 310 and bought the new Catalina 387 with friends; which reintroduced me to a full mast rig; We often have light winds so I upsized the gib to a 150 when we ordered the boat. I asked the Catalina folks --who I think make their own sails-- about adding a foam luff on the gib. They said they have never heard of it. (and threfore couldn't) My experience with foam luffs come from the S2-9.2C I owned years ago; it allowed me to "reef" the gib a few revolutions in a fresh breeze. We are casual lake sailers, so true performance is not much of a concern. But I can't efffectively partially roll in the jib without lots of flutter. Does Doyle make gibs with a foam luff? Can a sail be retrofitted with a foam luff? Can you give me ballpark ideas of costs involved for the Catalina 387? Thanks
 
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Bill Colombo

Luff Pad

Thane, We certainly do advocate luff pads on genoas over 100% on boats from 25-100+ft. Without a luff pad a genoa will keep getting fuller as it is reefed or partially furled, which is the opposite of what you want to happen. Luff pads not really new technology but they been refined over time. Depending on the application we will use either a foam pad or a pad made up of rope. Both methods achieve the same effect. It is no problem to add a luff pad to an existing genoa. We usually charge approx. $6.50/ft of luff to retrofit a luff pad. On your Cat 387 the cost would be about $325. Any local sailmaker should be able to do it. Thanks, Bill C. Doyle Sails
 
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Mike Aston

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Jun 3, 2004
22
- - Port Dalhousie, Ontario
But how much foam?

Are there any simple rules for deciding how much foam should be used. Does it depend, for instance, on the fulness of the individual sail, or does one size fit all?
 
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Bill Colombo

Foam Pad Size

Mike, We do vary the size or width of the foam pad according to the size of the sail. Generally though, they are between 6-9" at the bottom and about 4" smaller at the top. Bill C. Doyle Sails
 
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Roberto20012

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May 2, 2004
1
- - Annapolis, MD
SailRite has instructions for installing luff pad

SailRite provides instructions and will sell you the material. The instructions are on the last page of a document that describes how to convert a sail to roller furling. The link below is to the document. Look on page 7. I am currently in the process of modifying a genoa to match the specs for a 150 for my catalina 27 and will be adding the luff pad as well. I am doing this to help justify having purchased a sewing machine and it is on a sail that was given to me. I might not be so cavalier if I was working with a newly purchased sail. Even if you don't do it yourself, you will have a better idea of what is involved. Bob
 
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